The Co-op news and analysis – Page 101
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News
Co-op gets local meat
Shropshire processor Embreys has secured a deal to supply locally produced beef, lamb and pork to five West Midlands Co-op stores – at Church Stretton, Copthorne, Radbrook Green, Wem and Bicton Heath.The stores began stocking supplies last...
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Feege to help growth of Somerfield fresh produce
John Feege has been named as the latest addition to Somerfield’s 11-strong fresh produce buying team.Feege is filling a post which has been vacant for two years, and will work as a category buyer for brassicas and legumes, reporting to Dominic...
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United Mace is put in top gear
Palmer & Harvey McLane says it is on track to quadruple the size of its Mace symbol group in Scotland by next year.The UK’s largest wholesaler completed the deal to buy the Mace brand in Scotland from Somerfield last month and is now...
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Leaping to success
In an increasingly competitive market, skilled retailers and suppliers are finding it easier to switch between jobs, says Fiona McLellandGone are the days when a young boy would leave school, join the co-op as a shelf-stacker and...
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Somerfield should ‘walk away’ from bid
Somerfield shareholders have urged the supermarket group to ‘walk away’ from any bids instead of accepting a cheap offer.Mark Webster from State Street Global Advisors, which owns a 3% stake in Somerfield, said: “It looks unlikely that the...
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Custard boosts profit
Booming sales of custard helped boost dairy co-op Milk Link’s operating profits by 73% to £18.5m in the year to April 2.The company said custard production volumes rose 70% and were up 100% at Christmas. Milk Link produces custard in a joint...
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Co-op offloads 100 stores
The Co-operative Group is to off-load 100 poorly performing stores as it tidies up its portfolio.Most of the stores being sold are from the former Alldays and Balfour chains, which the co-op bought in October 2002 and July 2003...
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Introducing a unified brand
The Co-operative Group has registered a logo with the UK Patent Office that is believed to be the co-operative movement’s new brand identity, The Grocer can reveal.‘The Co-operative’ logo was recently registered on the trademark database for...
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Farmers picket co-op factory
Angry milk producers this week blockaded a farmer-owned dairy factory for the first time, closing it down for several hours at a reported cost of £10,000/hour.Previous pickets have targeted only factories owned by the plc dairy...
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CSR key for Co-op
The Co-operative Group is to review its Corporate Social Responsibility programme over the next six months with a view to strengthening the established values of the Co-op brand.Martin Beaumont,chief executive, said this week that CSR was...
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Tesco rivals in double trouble
On August 1 Tesco plans to open its newly refurbished and extended 101,000 sq ft Extra store in Slough.In August 2003, the retailer made headlines by buying a 50,000 sq ft Co-op shop down the road from this store. The OFT took an interest in...
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Innovation in turkey hailed
The big four retailers plus Somerfield and the Co-op have been shortlisted in the Retailer of the Year category in this year’s British Turkey Awards.A record 145 entries were received for the 10 categories in the awards scheme, which this year...
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Co-op bans MSG and food colourings
The Co-operative Group has banned monosodium glutamate and certain food colourings from its own label products as part of its Shopping With Attitude campaign.The ban covers 12 new colourings, which takes the co-op’s list of banned colourings in...
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Somerfield offer angers brewers
Brewers are outraged at Somerfield’s latest beer price promotion, believed to be the lowest ever recorded in retail.The deal involved Interbrew, Coors and Carlsberg brands and offered any two packs of 20 cans of 440ml Carling, 20 bottles of...
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Two senior assistants to drive Scotmid
Scotmid’s chief executive John Brodie has made two new senior appointments to help him take the Scottish co-op society forward.Colin McLean, former MD of Boots Services, signed on the dotted line this week to become Scotmid’s head of trading....
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Convenience: the new battleground
Despite the multiples’ entry into convenience, there is still plenty of scope for growth for other retailers – if suppliers adapt their products and packaging, delegates at the conference heard.Somerfield head of formats Doug Hall identified...
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Research Notes
>>household spend is upThe UK butter and spreads market is showing 3.9% growth. The average household is now spending £1.30 more than the previous year. The multiple grocers are driving this increase with Somerfield, Tesco and...
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Not so good, but better
Somerfield has struggled to reverse its fortunes, but is it seen as a prize worth winning, ask Rachel Barnes & Fiona McLellandUnited Co-operatives’ surprise decision to pull out of the race for Somerfield – just seven weeks after...